Paris, May 22, 2025 – In honor of the United Nations International Day for Biological Diversity, Dr. Bhavani Rao, UNESCO Chair on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, represented AMMACHI Labs and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham during a day of high-level engagements in Paris, underscoring Amrita’s global commitment to sustainability, gender equality, and ethical technology.

Dr. Rao began her day with a visit to IPBES (Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), where she shared insights into Amrita’s ongoing work in sustainability, community capacity-building, biodiversity preservation, and marine ecology. She highlighted how integrating traditional knowledge with modern scientific approaches can foster ecological resilience in vulnerable communities—particularly for women living in climate-sensitive coastal regions.

Later at UNESCO Headquarters, Dr. Rao was invited by Dr. Mariagrazia Squicciarini, Chief of the Executive Office for Social and Human Sciences, to speak to international delegates attending the Digital Transformation Society Conference, jointly hosted by the Paris School of Business and Università degli Studi di Napoli “Parthenope.”

In her address, Dr. Rao, who is also a member of UNESCO’s Women for Ethical AI, emphasized the pressing need to ensure that emerging technologies—particularly Artificial Intelligence—are developed with ethics and inclusion at the forefront. She concluded her talk with a powerful message:

“Ethics should remain the foundation of all AI development, which should be leveraged to improve the lives of women who stand to benefit the most from it.”

Dr. Rao’s participation on this important global platform demonstrates Amrita’s role as a leader in interdisciplinary research and advocacy—linking biodiversity conservation, gender empowerment, and ethical innovation on the world stage.